Sajaina Seif-Zahiam
Young, vivacious, playful, alluring, and manipulative, Sajaina Seif-Zahiam is not your typical skulk-in-the-shadows, dirty rascal. With the personality of a Bard and the skills of a Thief, Sajaina is a fun-loving Rogue with one thing constantly on her mind--adventure. __TOC__ Quick Facts * Full Name: Sajaina Seif-Zahiam * Sex: Female * Race: Sun Elf * Age: 17 years old * Homeland: Mura'kesz * Class: Rogue * Alignment: Chaotic * Family: ** Father: Maharaja Mohamarr Zahiam ** Mother: Fodila Seif-Mirza ** Mother's Husband: Hiaz Seif-Mirza ** Siblings: Alev Domiro-Mirza (half-sister), Johara Tasj-Mirza (half-sister), Maisaj Melik-Mirza (half-sister), Jamell Nopia-Zahiam (sister) Appearance A striking young Sun Elf woman of average height for her race (about 5'6") with a lithe, toned body, and full curves. Sajaina has espresso-brown hair which falls to her hips in loose, natural curls. Her eyes are a dark forest green, and often twinkling with some sort of mischief or excitement. Life in the desert has given her bronzed skin that is a tan shade of nut brown. Her usual clothing consists of lightweight, emerald silks--mostly simple, short-sleeved tops cropped above her stomach, and long, billowy pants made of mostly sheer material. She wears a matching silk veil that drapes over her nose and wraps around her head like a hood (as her culture dictates), obscuring her thick, dark hair. Often, long loops of thin golden chain strung with tiny emeralds adorn the crown of her veil, and are draped across her belly and hips. Even after she leaves home, Sajaina would struggle to remove her entire veil. Maybe at some point she’d still wear it, but allow it to lie more loosely over her head, like a cloak-hood, leaving just some of her hair and face unobscured. Or perhaps, if she’s feeling daring, she’d ditch the hood and wear only the piece of silk tied over her mouth, nose and neck, “bandit-style,” as a person’s lips are considered highly intimate in Mura'kesz culture, and they would be what she’s most shy of displaying, more so even than her hair. But we shall see. Personality Sajaina is a bright, witty, fun-loving, free-spirited woman whose greatest delight is trying new things. Food, clothing styles, games, languages--you name it, and Sajaina will always try something twice. One of her favorite things to do as a child was to sneak into taverns and listen to the foreign merchants’ strange accents, or to steal strange-looking baubles off of merchant carts and play with them like new toys (she usually snuck them back from where she’d taken them, but you know, sometimes she just didn’t make it back in time). She was always quick on her feet, an expert at picking pockets by the age of seven. She did it mostly to see if she could, and would often sleight of hand the money right back into her victims’ pockets (unless she really needed a fresh cinnamon bun from one of those Dwarven travellers--her mother never let her have sugary things at home). Her charm also developed at a young age; when detected mid-thieving, Sajaina would widen her alluring dark green eyes and say with all the sweetness and childhood innocence she could muster that the Sir or Madam had dropped whatever she had been about to steal, and offer it back with her most winning smile. That trick never failed her. As she got older, she’d learn how to adapt to fit her audience. Was it a male her age or older? Respond with a more coy, flirtatious tone. If he actually saw her taking it, make it seem like it had been a ploy just to start a conversation with him. A woman her age? Flattery. Older folk? Revert to sweet innocence. The Monks that guard the streets...well, don’t get caught by them! Sajaina is extremely slow to anger, and when she does, she is very good at maintaining her cool, not raising her voice, etc. Her eyes blaze, and if you knew her well enough you could sense the restraint she exercises, but she holds herself together admirably. She laughs often and cries without shame, as do most Mura’kesz, believing true happiness and true sadness to be two of the most precious mortal emotions--the ones the Bards spend their whole lives striving to evoke--because they have a magical ability to make a person feel truly alive. Sajaina is passionate about everything she puts her mind to. She dreams of travelling the world and seeing first hand these lands of heros that her people are second to none at describing, yet so rarely a part of themselves. She finds it sad that Sun Elves are so often the authors, and so rarely the characters in the epic stories of mankind. She would love to, if not be *part* of an adventure, at least be a primary source--a firsthand witness to the heroic deeds of others. She would love nothing more than to become a Lore-Gatherer, but such a path is closed to her because she is a woman, and thus forbidden to travel outside the desert under any circumstances. Family Sajaina was born to the current Maharaja of Mura’kesz, Mohamarr Zahiam, and was fortunate enough to be placed with her biological mother, Fodila Seif-Mirza, and her mother’s husband, Hiaz Seif-Mirza (whom she addresses simply by his first name, as custom dictates). Sajaina is the youngest of 5 daughters, all born to Fodila, which is quite the phenomenon in Mura'kesz. Fodila had to imploringly petition both the previous Maharaja (Maharaja Mirza, who fathered her eldest 3 daughters), and the current Maharaja Zahiam (who fathered her youngest 2), to allow for such an exception. In the end it came down to favoritism and practicality (if her husband Hiaz was willing to take on the hugely increased financial burden of raising 5 children to everyone else's 1 or 2, so be it). And luckily for Fodila, her husband was amenable. Relationship with Mother: Fodila and Sajaina were always close. While the rest of their humble district of craftsmen considers them odd (at best) for maintaining such a large family, Sajaina holds nothing but pride for her mother’s insistence to keep all her biological children together and raise them herself. Fodila taught Sajaina at an early age that all you can do in life is live it the way you wish, and if you spend all your time worrying whether or not other people will approve of it, you’ll never be able to focus on just enjoying being you. Relationship with Hiaz: Hiaz never played a primary role in raising the girls; he spends most of his time visiting homes in various districts and teaching foreign languages to children. He would bring his step-daughters gifts he bought off travelling merchants from time to time, tell them stories, and of course refine their own language studies, but he was not often at home. He was instrumental, however, in arranging all of their marriages. It is a source of great distress to Hiaz that his youngest charge has yet to marry, despite his best efforts over the past 4 years to arrange it. Sajaina has refused every suitor he’s found for her; not because she’s particularly picky, nor even because she’s “waiting for the right one.” The problem is, even though she is one of the oldest unwed girls in the nation, she just doesn’t feel old enough to be a wife and mother. There is so much more she wants to do for herself before she devotes the rest of her life to caring for the Maharaja’s children, a husband, and helping to earn a living for her family. Sajaina is confident in her ability to live happily with whomever she eventually ends up with, (and is excited at the prospect of simply having any handsome man all to herself at night), but she just doesn't feel ready for such an all-consuming partnership yet. Relationship with Sisters: Sajaina's oldest sister, Alev Domiro-Mirza, was married when Sajaina was just a baby, so they did not grow up together, but Alev (and her husband Ithal) visited their mother’s home often in Sajaina’s early years to help out Fodila. Despite this, Sajaina was never particularly close to Alev, nor to her next eldest siblings, Johara Tasj-Mirza and Maisaj Melik-Mirza, who all are rather cold, distant and finicky people. However, Jamell Nopia-Zahiam, the sister nearest in age to Sajaina and the only one to share her same full surname, is very close to Sajaina. Although Jamell is 8 years older, she’s the only sister that Sajaina really grew up with. Most of her other sisters were already married and living with their husbands by the time Sajaina was a toddler, but she got to spend the first 5 years of her life with Jamell still living in their mother’s home. Also, because Fodila, Hiaz and Sajaina live in the district where Jamell’s husband’s tavern is, Jamell still spends about half of her time helping her husband directly, and the other half on domestic pursuits with her mother and youngest sister. Fodila worries that part of the reason why Sajaina is still unwed later than even her most ill-tempered sister, is because of the impossible precedent set by Jamell’s outstanding beauty and docile nature. The best the Seif family had to marry off is gone, why settle for less when you can take a gem from another family? But Hiaz always calmly argued that while Jamell’s natural beauty is remarkable, Sajaina has an aura about her that draws men in. Not only is Sajaina quite beautiful herself, but more importantly, she is full of a light and fire that sweet Jamell could never possess. Hiaz insisted that Fodila would never understand because she was not a man, but to trust him, men would be attracted to Sajaina the most of all their daughters, Jamell included. Hiaz always said that Sajaina will marry when she chooses to. She is a willful girl, and will not be chained down before she agrees to it, that is all. Still, Fodila can’t help but worry, although Hiaz seemed to know what he was talking about--Sajaina has been very popular since she reached marriageable age, and had nearly double the suitors of Jamell. But just because Hiaz understands and respects his step-daughter’s point of view, does not discourage him from trying to push her towards the right husband. Relationship with Brother-in-laws: Only two of her sister's husbands have played a significant role in Sajaina's like. Jamell's husband, Trevam, who is sweet like his wife and fostered much of his endearment towards Sajaina through Jamell's high opinion of her. He also owns Sajaina's favorite tavern in the nation, Mutafarai Mohala (translated to “Vagabond’s Respite” for foreign visitors). They mix Sajaina’s favorite drink here, Elfatina (or as the foreigners know it, “the seductress”), which Trevam usually lets her order for free (so long as she doesn’t go overboard, as she’s been known to on just a few occasions...). Also, because of the tavern’s prime, riverview location in one of the middle districts, and large selection of foreign-imported alcohol, Mutafarai Mohala is the tavern most frequented by the more interesting travellers (and Sajaina would know, because she snooped about in all the taverns when she was young and just beginning her snooping career). Since she was 7 years old, Sajaina has been coming to this tavern, sitting on the same corner stool at the bar, sipping the same drink (okay fine apple juice until she was allowed to drink Elfatina), and eavesdropping on the talk of rambunctious, diverse travellers with an eager longing. And then there is Ithal Domiro-Mirza, Alev's Bard husband. Ithal is one of Sajaina’s favorite people. A masterful storyteller, he always had the young Sajaina hanging on his every word. His singing voice is like milk and honey, and Sajaina can see why her eldest sister loves him (the reverse still escapes her, however). Ithal is handsome, generous, and wonderful with children. When Sajaina was older, Ithal would tell her that he believed children were the best inspiration for art. “They experience emotion without restraint, dream without limit, and imagine more than they think.” He always impressed upon Sajaina that she must work to retain these qualities as she aged; mature, sure, grow older, of course, but never forget to experience life with the mind of an adult, but the heart of a child. Ithal has been like a true brother to Sajaina all her life. Financial Situation Hiaz is a prominent language teacher and Fodila is a well-regarded silk-weaver, which means her daughters were always clothed in nice silks and new fashions. Because of her mother’s profession, Sajaina has an appreciation for fine clothing and loves the feeling of expensive fabrics on her skin. Hiaz’s profession fostered Sajaina’s strong appreciation for foreign language, and she learned Elven, Gnomish, Orc, and even Canticum before bothering to formally study the New Common tongue (Dwarven), which is therefore the weakest of her 6 languages (she can speak it fine enough, for the most part, but struggles when writing, preferring to use her native short hand or the elegant, descriptive Elvish that most Sun Elf artists favor). And of course she grew up speaking Jamessa. It’s an impressive repertoire, to be sure, but all Mura’kesz are multilingual, speaking at bare minimum 3 languages, while most learn 4-5. The Seif family lives in a simple craftsmen's district (6), but Hiaz and Fodila’s successful jobs have earned them a northern spot in fair proximity to the Nahara. The northernmost marketplaces of District 6 are also home to two popular taverns (Mutafarai Mohala is one of them) and one luxurious inn for travellers. District 6 is one of the most active of the humble, even-numbered districts, and most of its residents are considered middle-class. Between Fodila’s skill at the loom and Hiaz’ extra hours spent tutoring, the couple easily could have afforded to live in a more upper class district with their allotted two children. They swapped a more wealthy lifestyle for a comfortably sustainable life in order to raise all of Fodila’s children. They always have food on the table and beds to sleep on, and the husbands of their daughters are generous, for the most part, when it comes to helping out their in-laws with the youngest unwed Seif daughter. Profession If Sajaina had remained in Mura’kesz, she was en route to becoming an artist and moving to one of the odd-numbered, higher class districts. Her voice isn’t bad, but a bit low for a woman, and would need training to be able to reach higher notes. But there was never any point in taking lessons for it because she absolutely cannot perform. She gets intense stage fright when asked to do anything artistic in front of a large crowd. The only exception is that she can perform dances if she keeps her eyes closed the whole time and loses herself. When she achieves this, she can mesmerize people with the way she moves her body. But typically, dance is something she practices in private and performs for herself. Her marketable art is drawing. She can sketch a scene rich with detail in just a minute or so, and if she takes her time, she can produce some pretty breathtaking stuff. She’s good with paints and pastels, but nothing clicks so well with her as simple pencils against paper. When she needs to add color? Colored pencils. Her prized possession is a sketchbook filled with drawings, some unfinished, many complete, colored, and beautiful. She loves to sketch landscapes, and has tried to capture and recapture the various views of her desert homeland more times than she can count. She’s already gained a bit of a reputation, and people stop by her mother's home to pay good commissions for her work, or ask her to illustrate the specific scenes from a great story, or, more than once, ask her to draw out the image of the great Emir’shariia palace submerged in the Nahara. Romance At the start of the campaign, Sajaina has never been with a man, never kissed a man, never done more than hug a family member. She loves to flirt, and has certainly thought about doing all kinds of devious things with men, but in her culture, men are respectful and keep their distance from unmarried women. Not only that, but Sajaina spent more time avoiding the proposals of men her age than actually getting to know them. A Rogue in the Making As mentioned above, if Sajaina could have picked any job in Mura’kesz, she would’ve been a Lore-Gatherer. But the fact that she couldn’t never stopped her from learning all she could about their trade. Her early-developed skills of snooping quickly and quietly about the streets came in handy in her early teens when she first began spying on the Lore-Gatherers training. The Monks train in the non-submerged upper levels of Sharr Marivah, and Sajaina would sneak around the river bank that the College was built into and peer through the windows, following the quick movements of the Monks, breathing along with them during their exercises, and forcing her body to hold strange, flexible poses for as long as she could. She knew there wasn’t much to be gained from this, and that perhaps she was just making things harder for herself, watching and mimicking the Lore-Gatherer’s physical training with such genuine longing, but exercising and challenging her body was addicting, and once she started she couldn’t stop. She’s “trained” in the shadows of Lore-Gatherers since she was 13 years old, racing down to the College with dedication each morning at sunrise. She doesn’t have much to show for it, but her body has always been extremely in shape, and the constant, vigorous exercise has made her strong, balanced and lean. Paired with her light, practiced steps, quick wit, endearing charm, keen senses, good eye for hiding places, and lust for adventure--she surely has a solid foundation to suit any Rogue. She does not own a weapon, though she admires their craft (particularly the forging of swords), and has never actually thought of herself as a “Rogue” or a “Thief.” Regardless of how she views it, Sajaina does have quite the history of petty theft from a startlingly young age (every cinnamon bun was worth it; she harbors no regrets). Other Companions Other than the relatives to whom she is particularly close, Sajaina's best friend is a 25-year-old Sun Elf named Yatirem Senen-Zahiam. He is one of the Lore-Gatherer monks that regularly patrols Sajaina’s district during the night shift. Silent and solemn, like all the others of his caste, Sajaina noticed he was a regular guard on her street and tried her hardest to get him to talk to her, beyond his stock polite, one-worded answers. It took her awhile, but after she got him to crack a smile and laugh at her jokes, she knew she had him. It turns out Yatirem has an animated, playful personality that he tries to keep hidden underneath his stoic guardliness (a word now) in public for the sake of professionalism. Since Sajaina cracked him about 3 years ago, Yatirem has always been there to begrudgingly bail her out of trouble when she slips up (which luckily doesn’t happen too often) with her thieving and sneaking around, poking her nose in places where she shouldn’t be. Yatirem is also one of the few Mura’kesz Sajaina knows closely who occasionally leaves the city (for his Lore-Gathering duties). Every time he returns from an adventure, she picks his brain so relentlessly for details that the conversations usually end with Sajaina having to buy Yatirem a nice drink at a tavern. For her part, Sajaina would frequently sneak out of her mother’s house at night to take long walks with Yatirem up and down the dark, magically-warmed streets, keeping him company during an otherwise very lonely few hours of night-patrol duty. They have grown very comfortable with each other, and quickly established a “no judgement zone” for these nightly rendezvous, where they speak about all manner of crazy thoughts, hopes and fears. The pair have quite a lot of amusing escapades under their belts by now. For instance, the first time Sajaina tried to imitate and hold one of the Monks’ more advanced poses, she stubbornly pulled her leg too hard when it wouldn’t stretch the way she wanted it to, and ended up sprawled behind the Sharr Marivah, unconscious. Luckily it was Yatirem who found her, brought her ice for her sprained ankle, carried her home, and helped make up a noble story to tell her parents, wherein Sajaina chased after a teenager who was bullying a little girl before tragically tripping over an ill-placed rock. Her mother was proud of her, Hiaz approving, and Yatirem hysterical. He will never let Sajaina live that down, and teases her endlessly for it to this day (even though it happened nearly 2 years ago now). Yatirem never misses an opportunity to bring it up: “Hey Saj, remember that time you tried to do my daily morning stretches and instead sprained your ankle and passed out?” Notable Acquaintances Kebrio Tobeha-Zahiam is a young and exceptionally promising Bard (and knows it) who was one of the first men to ask Hiaz for permission to propose marriage to Sajaina. His ego was hurt when she denied him after nearly two years of his confident pursuit, but Kebrio married another woman soon after and he and Sajaina remain on relatively cordial terms. Category:Characters Category:Party Members (past and present)